J M Molter Clarinet Concerto

J. M. Molter, Clarinet Concerto No 1 A major
Dariusz Elbe - clarinet
Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra
live recording

[@knt7152]

本当にこの人のエスクラリネットの音、素晴らしい。

[@sheynj1]

Elbe is one of the finest players today that can display the best attributes of the high Eb clarinet. His tone, control and lyricism is exemplary and inspirational. Great performance by all. Wonderful.

[@danyelnicholas]

Isn’t that a d-clarinet?

[@danyelnicholas]

I can’t Believe they have actually transposed this UP a semitone because the soloist did not bother to get a d-clarinet? That is not even taking into account, that at Molter’s time the pitch was actually lower, so Elbe might have played on the eb transposing a wholetone down. But all this is futile because the actual « clarinetto » Molter calls for was a totally different instrument with two keys and a more oboe like embouchure.

[@danyelnicholas]

Sorry, I take part of this back, they actually Do play a semitone lower, in Ab, F on the eb clarinet. So at least they are approaching historic pitch if not performance practice.

[@gerardbegni2806]

@@danyelnicholas Perfectly right and confirmed by musicologists such as Lawson.

[@orlandodilasso]

O man, I love those high clarinets when played well. And this guy Dariusz did exactly that! Bravo for tone and expression. And a very nice concerto and orchestra too.

[@jhosuayoungtiger6478]

+Frank Extra yeah

[@cesteres]

Not to mention sound recording

[@hirobow33777]

モルターの協奏曲はニ長調なので本来D管で吹くのですがこの演奏はEs管で吹いているので変ホ長調なんですね。 弦の伴奏が半音高く演奏するのこの楽譜があればEsクラリネットでモルターを楽しむことができるのは素晴らしいアイデアだと思います。

[@urinaku]

Honestly, this is a very convincing performance. In contrary to some comments here, I rarely have heard a Eb clarinet being played with this clear and pure intonation and the rich, round, "wooden" sound that Bb and A clarinets are effortlessly able to produce (but even some nowadays famous players lack to do). And so, the Eb clarinet is often abused to solely create sharp, flat, squeeking and partly annoying sounds (when it gets put on a race with the piccolo flute, for example, by Shostakovich, but even that has to be played convincingly well). This performance, however, puts this clarinet in its own right as a dignified representative of the higher registered part of the clarinet family (without being classified as just a shrunk "travesty" of it). Thank you very much for this experience!

[@gerardbegni2806]

I think that it is a D clarinet. Note that you find this instrument as late as in the "rite of spring" ans some scores by Richard Strauss.

[@gerardbegni2806]

Listen also to Ravel's left hand concerto.

[@pattihamernik6250]

Bravo Eb clarinet performance! I also play Eb clarinet. it’s nice to see this clarinet being celebrated in all its musical glory. It is really a beautiful instrument and is sadly frequently maligned and omitted from some conductors repertoire.

[@user-zh1jo5nb7i]

Охх, это, черт возьми, прекрасно!

[@sheynj1]

The piccolo clarinet played beautifully. Gold standard.

[@jamydelpias]

Quelle merveille interprétation de concerto. Le Largo est une pure merveille !

[@vfrfoxtrott6430]

Merci de ce lien , j'ai bien apprécié ce concerto 🎼🎵🎶🎻

[@wolfgangvetter4032]

For those of you wondering and debating, Elbe is using an Eb clarinet, and here's the reason why: it says that the concerto is in A major, but the whole concerto in this video is actually transposed down to Ab major. If you don't believe me, pluck an Ab and listen to the first note played by the strings. If Elbe were to play this same key with a D clarinet, he would be dealing with 4 sharps, but with the Eb, he only has one flat to deal with in his transposition.

[@zenasm.savage1999]

I think your right. He actually sounds a wee bit sharp to the orchestra. He is playing in the written key of F major. Personally I find little difficulty increase between F (easiest of all) and E major (crossing fingerings kind of seem natural to me in E major). I find A and B major to twist my fingers though.

[@sameash3153]

The strings are just tuned 415

[@multitrackjake8698]

I shall now clarify everything regarding the instrument this was written for, played on here and the transposition. This concerto was originally written for a very early Clarinet in D (evident from the manuscript on imslp) This rendition is being played on a modern Eb Clarinet. We know this because: They are playing this concerto in Ab major rather than the original A major. He is visibly playing in the key of F major which means his part is written a minor third below sounding pitch (Ab major). It's actually not that easy to visually distinguish between a modern Eb and D clarinet. Modern D clarinets do exist, but they are rare.

[@oscarespinosa9264]

Thank you. You solved my question.

[@ClarinetCraze]

does this mean that although they used a different-pitched clarinet, they played the same "written key" therefore changing the whole key of the orchestra?

[@multitrackjake8698]

@@ClarinetCraze well there are 2 possibilities here, I couldn't know for sure which is correct: 1. They are all playing a version transposed into Ab-major. 2. The orchestra are playing at A=415 (ie Baroque pitch) and he is playing the original D Clarinet part on a modern Eb clarinet which works out in terms of the transposition. It's quite common for period orchestras to play at this pitch but using a modern clarinet is very weird. I think 2. is probably more likely simply because it's way less work and also they play very much like a period orchestra. Nevertheless the mishmash of period pitch and a modern clarinet is very weird. A modern Eb is way too industrial to play this concerto well.

[@alexandergretchaninov7320]

I am very impressed by this recording, especially how the orchestra accompanies at 3:57-4:05. I have no critique whatsoever.

[@donaldmccormack7580]

A most enjoyable interpretation of this piece which I`m sure el maestro would have approved of. Thank you all very much,

[@TomahawkTech]

Incredible performance, I'm very impressed.

[@jamydelpias]

Sublissime Jean-Melchior Molter🙏

[@mmbmbmbmb]

A delightful piece ~ an excellent rendition! Thank you for this, in such high sound quality!

[@saxefoner]

Great acoustics, beautiful location, very well done solo. Bravo.

[@Desmond4052]

when you close your eyes and listen to it, it really sounds like a piccolo trumpet

[@WilfriedBerk]

Excellent !

[@PianoGuy1990]

Bravo. He has great tone and full mastery of this tiny clarinet which is hard to play this wonderfully, rather it takes skills. I played E-flat, Rite of Spring, Til Eulenspiegal, etc. Loved it.

[@HenkVeenstra666]

*tijl Uilenspiegel

[@user-yj3eu5sj6v]

こんな音になるようにガンバる💪 何年かかるかな～??笑😄😄

[@nicomomesso5163]

Bravissimo e orchestra super

[@sopranino56]

Wspaniale, wielka klasa ,gratulacje pozdrawiam

[@davesurprenant5548]

I love how he just came on stage and start playing. I know it's important to be in tune, but I think players tuning before a piece ruins the anticipation of hearing music played.

[@zenasm.savage1999]

I agree. Its important to have stable pitch but truly its not the be all end all especially for a live performance. The exception I give is for student recitals, where the soloist may have an excessive wait before taking the stage. In that instance practicality exceeds showmanship. Also the clarinet in D isn't exactly known for its well tempered pitch, its intonation is naturally wonky.

[@olavtryggvason1194]

The high setting for the clarinet is typical for early instruments. In the beginning the musicians saw the clarinet only as a substitute for the high trumpet (clarino), not as an instrument in its own right. This explains its name "clarinetto" = little clarino. Only the high register was used in the beginning i.e. until around 1750, when Jan Stamitz came out with the first "modern" clarinet concerto, treating the clarinet as a clarinet, not as a trumpet substitute.

[@klarinetta]

Aren't the first written pieces for the clarinet 2 concertos for 2 clarinets and 2 oboes by Vivaldi in C major RV 559 and 560 ?

[@olavtryggvason1194]

I never heard about these pieces, but it is possible since the clarinet existed since around 1700.

[@francissadleir9805]

Oh yes I love the j. Stamitz concerto it was the first concerto I have ever played and is very near to my heart although I only played the 3rd movement

[@AlexandreTUNG]

令人嘆為觀止的技巧！降E調豎笛最為困難的就是同時兼具響亮的音色及音準，而他所演奏的音色之通透實在是太美妙了

[@francopace8146]

Bravissimo!

[@danielbardelli9621]

Bravoo!!!!!!! Bravíssimo!!!!

[@berrntortner6801]

Very well played. he also played a lot of improvisations. Good to hear probably one of the firts concertos for the instrument.

[@samuelburon-mousseau8521]

He didn't improvised anything !

[@jesseclementino]

Samuel Buron You're right!! Nobody can do improvisations in a piece like that.

[@multitrackjake8698]

It's called ornamentation. Ornamentation is very rarely improvised

[@dontarshes5374]

Odd that they played the piece in Ab major instead of A. Apparently the soloist didn't have access to a D clarinet. Playing in A major on an Eb clarinet means playing in written F# major, a bit awkward on any clarinet, hence the transposition down a half step so the soloist can play in F major on the Eb clarinet.

[@IsaacW.]

I didn't even know a D clarinet was a thing. Are you sure it's not just the Boroque tuning. Using today's tuning of A=440 an Ab is 412 which is Boroque tuning.

[@reneblom2160]

I actually like that! Playing this concerto in the key of Ab, instead of A major, makes the clarinet part sound less shrill. And more enjoyable to listen to.

[@shipyaad]

Baroque tuning.

[@Sonic_Time_Traveler]

@@IsaacW. yup and c clarinets too. Super rare though or expensive.

[@IsaacW.]

@@Sonic_Time_Traveler yeah I've never even seen a C clarinet. Have you gotten to play one?

[@HenkVeenstra666]

The very first clarinet concerto!!!

[@oriovaldopaula4023]

Gosto muito de concerto com Clarinete.

[@filippozaccaria6944]

3:07 -OMG that's why I love baroque music😊

[@klarinetta]

Great playing bravo

[@648210564]

muy buena interpretación de J. M.MOLTER

[@rubensoliveira2704]

Muito bom. Estão de parabéns.

[@duncanmckeown1292]

As a clarinettist I can appreciate his dexterity and tone...although I have never ventured to play this (relatively tiny!) E flat instrument. Very impressive. We need to hear more of the early repertoire! Yes, the music does seem fitting for the piccolo trumpet, but I think that in Molter's time the scope of this relatively new instrument had yet to be fully explored.

[@WilfriedBerk]

A master !

[@ezequieldpr9385]

Buena interpretación, y cómoda tonalidad ha elegido

[@juansones3162]

Good job !! and good sound !! congra !!

[@paulinaaleksa9641]

SUPER !

[@jeschu9788]

Es handelt sich übrigens wahrscheinlich um das älteste erhaltene Klarinettenkonzert (Chalumeaux nicht eingerechnet)

[@edepillim]

Superb! How that Eb clarinet projects. Dead in tune. So many say this is a difficult one to play in tune. The recording sound is wonderful.

[@alexc302]

Sublime 2nd movement.

[@dickvandijk4170]

quel pleasant surprise

[@tomfilipiak690]

Nicely done and your tone is excellent. (Sometimes hard to do on the high Clarinets.)

[@jesuscerda6913]

Someone pass me the orchestral harpsichord part?, i have a piano score but it is the arrangement of the orchestral accompaniment.

[@72ELIES]

genial el sonido y la técnica!!!!

[@gracegorman3306]

That's the nicest high clarinet I've heard, ever. Still prefer the lower end for myself though.

[@hudsoncampos2201]

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@zebra3stripes]

Hey, what happened to the rest of this? at 4:40.

[@francescobertolini9214]

💯💯💯

[@03Venture]

The small Eb clarinet is ridiculously difficult to play well and in tune.

[@Kass686]

Does anyone know what clarinet is used in this performance? The original concerto was written for D sopranino clarinet, and I'm not sure if this is D or Eb.

[@noahmcallister3597]

Matt Boeckers I disagree you that he is using a d clarinet. I believe he is using an e flat clarinet, and the orchestra is playing the music down a half step, so that he reads the clarinet as if he were playing on a d clarinet. I watched when we fingered a c, and pitch is a concert e flat.

[@Kass686]

Noah McAllister This is what I had assumed, but I was still curious. They still make D clarinets, but they're very rare and expensive.

[@juliyanmartinez3785]

Peasant's Rondo he is trans posing down a step if you watch his fingers and look at the music he plays a concert eb where the music says to play a concert f

[@shipyaad]

There are two transpositions going on. The part is written for D clarinet, but he's playing on an Eb. Since the piece is in A major, that means the written clarinet part is in G major. To play it on an Eb clarinet he has to transpose down a half step to F# major - this is the first transposition. Modern pitch levels are around A440, but the orchestra is using baroque tuning, A415. Conveniently, this is a half step lower than modern tuning. Since he's playing on a modern instrument he needs to do another half step transposition to meet the orchestra. So, first transposition for the instrument key, the second transposition for the orchestra pitch. So the original part is in G major for a D clarinet. Moving to baroque pitch and playing on a modern Eb gives you a whole step transposition to F major for the clarinetist, which VASTLY improves the playability of the piece - he doesn't have to reach all the way up to high G, he doesn't have to play in six sharps. The baroque pitch also means that this is a decent approximation of what Molter's audiences might have heard while he was alive. All in all, a very cool approach to dealing with piccolo clarinet stuff in baroque music. Fantastic performance, too.

[@dianesanfilippo8339]

I agree - played the E-flat clarinet in our concert and marching bands in high school - hard to find the reeds but finally found a music shop that kept them in stock for me. As the only one in the state I made all star band easily! Northside High School Concert band was #1 in the state and my band director handed me a slip from one of the judges who wrote 'e-flat clarinet? nice addition to terrific concert band' - this was in 1958 - a LONG time ago! Wish I had kept that beautiful little clarinet.

[@sjnugee]

Was the concerto written for an Eb clarinet?

[@WilfriedBerk]

+David Calvo Soprano clarinet in D

[@llllll4765]

+Wilfried Berk The D clarinet is sopranino

[@eliaskwola]

He's actually playing this on an E-flat Clarinet though

[@cesteres]

It's hard to come by a modern D clarinet...

[@maf1029a]

@@eliaskwola Not only that -- he's playing it down a half step (first mvmt in A-flat major). Sounds gorgeous, though.

[@lowheadvarney158]

What kind of clarinet is he playing?

[@ilaytzirin923]

Piccolo E flat

[@lowheadvarney158]

@@ilaytzirin923 ?Yes but what brand

[@cindywangshin1105]

01:48

[@ninocarriglio9054]

Bravissimo... però qua la tonalità è in Lab e non in Sib come l'ho trovato io....

[@TheFra091]

very very beautiful. can have the score? thanks

[@JulioDavidAuster]

Here you have all of Molter's clarinet concertos. imslp.org/wiki/Category:Molter,_Johann_Melchior

[@manaka3446]

この曲の譜面どこで買えますか？

[@sameash3153]

Based!

[@Love-no8do]

やべぇー

[@enantiodromia]

How unfortunate that not replicas of historical instruments have been used. The concert is being played on a modern clarinet with a tone quite different from the old clarinets.

[@marcosPRATA918]

É uma requinta, difícil instrumento. Intérprete perfeito!

[@AyresCorrea]

Queria achar as partituras

[@marcosPRATA918]

@@AyresCorrea só encomendando, em brasília na Musimed, ou em outras outras cidades que tenha casas de música especializada.

[@AyresCorrea]

@@marcosPRATA918 Obrigado :D

[@umeneri]

1:49 1:49 1:49

[@samantham9401]

0:22 OML I THOUGHT IT SAID *AUTISTIC* DIRECTOR LMAO

[@pidekaar]

i like his playing but the problem is that his trillers in first movement are way to fast

[@MatthewBanks100]

is the Orchestra tuning at 430? the concerto is sounding in Ab

[@JoshJNYC]

No, he is playing the concerto on an Eb clarinet and the entire thing is transposed down one half step to put it in concert Ab, which would make it in the written key of F major for the clarinetist, which is an order of magnitude easier to play in than concert A on an Eb clarinet, which would be written F# major. Likely he didn't have a D clarinet (which would be in written G major, which is a snap, technically speaking). Given the already very high tessitura of the concerto,, they likely made the decision to transpose it down instead of up. He could easily have just played the D clarinet part on the Eb clarinet in written G, but it would have taken it to a place of extreme brightness bordering on unpleasant.

[@multitrackjake8698]

A=415 would be an entire semi tone (half step). Also the answer is no they are playing at A=440

[@MatthewBanks100]

Lol, I asked this question years ago when I was still in undergrad. I think at the time I was really, really looking for audio of the rare clarinet in D. Obviously this Performance is excellent

[@phillipecook3227]

Rare to hear the Eb clarinet as a soloist. Seems to have been pretty much usurped by its Bb cousin in evolution.

[@guilhermeclifordmolter2036]

\up

[@mochikoto]

体大きいからエスクラに見える、と思ったらエスクラだった

[@lubiezniczek666]

Nice idea, however the soloist sounds strained, heavy, unsure and the intonation is sometimes disturbed. Overall, it sounds like a Vivaldi played in XIX century. Sorry, notes alone don't make music.

[@MICHELMUSIK123]

Bravo.